ATLANTA - President Obama said today he remains optimistic about the prospects for his second term agenda despite what he called a "shortage of common sense" in the nation's capital.

"We've got good, common-sense solutions that we can implement right now. The bad news is, is that there's a shortage of common sense in Washington," he said at a fundraiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "What's holding us back is a tendency in Washington to put politics ahead of policy, to put the next election ahead of the next generation. And that mind-set is what we need to change.

"Despite sometimes the doom and gloom of what you hear emanating out of Washington, you should be optimistic about this country. I sure am," he said.

The president did not mention any of the political scandals his administration is currently dealing with, but he joked about the state of his hair as he acknowledged that the "rough and tumble" of politics has taken its toll on his hair color.

"If you get in this business, folks are going to take their shots at you, and I've got the gray hair to prove it," he said. "But that kind of stuff doesn't bother me, and I know it doesn't bother others who are in elected office, if we feel like we're getting stuff done. If we feel that at the end of the day when we look back on our public service, we can say, you know what, this country is stronger, better positioned for the future than it was before."

In the first of six DSCC fundraisers he's expected to attend this year, the president spoke to approximately 100 people at the Arthur M. Blank Family Office, and attendees paid $10,000 per couple while hosts paid $32,400 per couple, according to a DSCC official. Obama was in Atlanta to address the Morehouse College commencement ceremony earlier in the day.